CONTROVERSIAL changes to legal aid contributions are expected to be passed at the Scottish Parliament today.

The proposals initially attracted anger from defence solicitors, who also opposed moves to make them collect the money instead of the Scottish Legal Aid Board.

Following talks with the Law Society, Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill agreed to raise the contribution level from the proposed £68 to £82.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "Throughout the development and passage of our Bill, the Scottish Government have met the Law Society of Scotland regularly and we appreciate the society's assistance in helping to shape a Bill that will ensure access to justice is preserved for all.

"The Bill will deliver substantial savings on the legal aid budget, which will allow us to carry on maintaining the broad scope of legal aid in Scotland for those who need it most. This is in direct contrast to the situation we are seeing south of the border where the UK Government have made huge cuts to the scope of legal aid."

Some lawyers withdrew their labour from various sheriff courts for a day at a time in protest at the proposed changes, contained in the Scottish Civil Justice Council and Criminal Legal Assistance Bill which reaches its third and final stage at Holyrood this afternoon.

The Scottish Government said more than 80 per cent of applicants for criminal legal aid will be unaffected by the changes proposed in the Bill.

Ministers said expenditure on legal aid in 2011-12 was £157.3 million, the second highest on record, and that their proposals are aimed at cutting the figure by almost £4 million.

Last week Ian Moir from the Law Society said: "Thanks to the package of improvements which we negotiated, some of the poorest will be taken out of having to make a contribution altogether, including many disabled people and war veterans. That package also means solicitors will have to collect contributions in far fewer cases. In fact, some of the cases where it would have been virtually impossible to collect the contribution have been removed from the collection system altogether.

"Even with these improvements, the legislation is likely to create a number of practical difficulties, particularly with solicitors being forced to collect contributions. This is not the Bill we would have ideally wanted and there is no doubt that we will have to revisit these issues in future."